In a game that wasn't very crisp or particularly competitive, the #newlookSuns showed an eager crowd that there are some standouts on this squad who weren't on the team last season.

"That first five minutes was really hard to get your second wind," new forward/center Miles Plumlee said of the altitude.

Incumbent starters Marcin Gortat and Goran Dragic, at least mentally, took a back seat to the new guys who wanted to make a mark for their new team. Miles Plumlee scored 17 points (8 of them on impressive dunks) and pulled down 9 rebounds, while Gerald Green showed a dead-eye three point shot in making 6-9 from distance for 20 points.

"I just feel like I fit in really well," Plumlee said after the game. "I just gotta be there for the smalls, set screens and rolling. It's pretty easy. I've been looking forward to this as soon as I was traded."

Regarding Gerald Green, Plumlee said "I knew he'd fit in really well with this style of play."

Newcomer Eric Bledsoe looked the part on Saturday, playing point guard for a "black" team that took a big early lead. He scored 13 points (5-10 shooting) with 7 assists, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, 1 block and 5 turnovers while playing almost all 40 minutes of the scrimmage.

But the crowd cheered loudest for Channing Frye, who surprised everyone - including himself and coaches - by playing 24 of the 40 minutes of the scrimmage.

"We went into tonight's scrimmage and he was concerned about it," head coach Jeff Hornacek said of Frye's integration back into live gme play, "We said okay we'll keep you to 2-3 minute stints so you don't get tired and all of a sudden I'm looking up and going 'he's still in the game?' but he said 'I'm good, I'm good'. It was great to see him getting extended minutes in the game."

Frye, who missed all of last year with an enlarged heart, made his first three pointer before the first quarter was over and finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds on the day.

P.J. Tucker was P.J. Tucker, chipping in a strong 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists (with 3 turnovers) in his 27 minutes of play. Shannon Brown was Shannon Brown, occasionally dribbling himself into trouble but making some really nice catch-and-shoot jumpers (11 points on the day). If Brown could transform into a catch-and-shoot guy, he could be deadly on the right team.

The Morris twins had an uneven day. Marcus looked pretty good at his small forward position, posting 13 points (including 2-5 on threes) and 5 rebounds, but brother Markieff looked tentative. As we've come used to seeing, Kieff made some nice moves around the basket only to miss the bunny by trying to make the shot too softly. He finished 2-12 on the day,

Kendall Marshall still shoots from the chest, which makes it too easy for the defense to contest his shot, but looked a lot more chiseled this year than last year. He was quicker, more decisive, yesterday but still doesn't show any domination to his game. He finished with 8 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds.

Of the guys trying to beat the odds to make the roster, the waterbug Ish Smith darted his way to 5 assists before halftime (6 for the game) but clearly doesn't have an offensive arsenal either from long range, midrange or at the basket. Dionte Christmas went 0-5 while James Nunnally went 1-4 and Slava Kravstov 1-2.

Editorial

Eric Bledsoe is exactly as advertised, a jack of all trades who looked like the best player on the court. He made some really nice passes to drive and set up Plumlee for thunderous dunks, showing a nice court vision that told everyone he knew what he was doing. He also out jumped players for contested rebounds and made some nice catch-and-shoot threes as his team took a 33-15 lead (or something close to that) in the first quarter.

His running mate Goran Dragic made some nice passes and had a transition layup but otherwise didn't make an impact on the game (sore toe, tired from Eurobasket). The two of them played only 5 minutes together in this setting because they each started at PG for their respective team.

There's no other way to say it than this: Miles Plumlee punked Marcin Gortat in this game. Just like Gortat gets dominated sometimes by bigger, more active centers, he was whitewashed by Plumlee in this game. While Plumlee got 13 impressive points and 8 rebounds in the first three quarters, Gortat was held to 7 points (all on long midrange jumpers) and 0 rebounds. Once, Plumlee rotated on a carom that ended up in Gortat's hands two feet from the basket and stuffed Gortat's little layup attempt right back in his face.

Plumlee was one of the few players who didn't look tired after a week of two-a-days in the high altitude, and his game takes place about a foot higher than Gortat. "Frequent Flyer" Miles regularly plays above the rim - dunks, high rebounds, blocks - while we all know that Gortat prefers to stay closer to the ground.

This doesn't mean that Plumlee is a better player than Gortat. He's not. But at the very worst he appears to be a 7-foot version of Suns fan fave Louis Amundson - always active, beating other players on hustle and pogo sticks for legs, but probably best in a limited role off the bench because his offensive arsenal is limited.

Archie Goodwin was a no-show in this one. His shots came up short and his aggressiveness was totally missing. He looked like a 19-year old out there.

Alex Len is clearly bigger than any other Suns big, and pulled some two-handed rebounds (ahem, Fropez, ahem) away from smaller players by simply getting his arms up there higher than the rest. He's got a nice shot from midrange, but otherwise looked a step slow compared to Plumlee. The 20-year old has some learnin' to do, and he still has to get in game shape.

Summary

I had a great time driving up to Flag and back with fellow BSers Sean Sullivan and Jim Coughenour, as well as ESPN's Amin Elhassan. Sean was a gracious host to drive all the way up and back while we all BSed about the Suns for 4 hours, reminiscing about the past 9 years in the valley.

In the end, we all agreed that the Suns are finally heading in the right direction post-Nash, and that the bricks have been laid. Now the hard part comes: getting lucky when the opportunity arises. Luck is a combination of preparation and opportunity. You have to recognize your opportunities when they arise and be prepared to meet them. The Suns weren't prepared for the James Harden situation last time, but maybe they will be ready next time.

The house was more packed than I expected (a few thousand fans) and the Suns looked relaxed and maybe a little surprised by the excitement. They didn't have their game faces on, and it showed in their early play. Coach Hornacek was in a great mood, smiling and cracking jokes much of the game while he let his assistants run the show for their respective teams.

And finally, I took my buds to an old standby from back in the day. An alum of NAU, I have a soft spot for Buster's restraurant right there on Milton (ie. the main drag). And despite looking like it was still stuck in the 80s (I mean seriously, it was the SAME restaurant in 1989), we got some great chicken wings and very hospitable service. Well done, Busters!

Notes from the scrimmage

First quarter:

Starts with a fast-break layup by Brown

Two steals before two baskets - really sloppy

Shannon Brown with the starters ahead of Goodwin

Bledsoe with a nice hard drive, dump, slam by Plumlee when defense collapsed

Goodwin just stepped in for Brown. Let's see what happens

Suns dancers hit/miss. Dancing good, music bad reception.

Took five minutes for the first foul, on a drive by Goran

Bledsoe has a quick second-jump on rebounds. Taken two from Goran already

Marshall's first shot was contested because it's still too low. Speeded up the release but still too easy to affect

The Phoenix Suns scrimmage at noon today is purportedly going to be covered "LIVE" on SunsTV at Suns.com, with play by play called by radio voice Jon Bloom and color commentary done by this generation's Ed McMahon: Greg Esposito. Not sure if it's audio only, or if there's actual streaming but I am guessing the latter.

Irregardless (yes, I know that's not a word), the Bright Side staff will be out in never-before-seen force - the great Sean Sullivan (who I always look up to) and the inimitable Jim Coughenour (who might take up the entire media session with a single, indepth question) join me for a road trip up the hill. Should be quite a ride!

Yeah but...

Okay, it's not regular season basketball. It's not even preseason basketball. It's an organized scrimmage of a motley collection of NBA players that just might have a few guys that will stick around a while.

General Manager Ryan McDonough warns that this season won't be pretty.

"We can't try to rush the process or let our record blur the lines of what we're trying to do," McDonough said, preaching patience in the most obvious way he could. "We've just got to keep getting better, keep pushing, developing our players, and find guys who are keepers for the next great Suns team. That's what I'm looking for."

That's what we're all looking for. Who's a keeper for the next great Suns team?

Bledsoe is quietly one of the more divisive players in the league among executives. There are a lot of higher-ups who view him as an All-Star in waiting, but there's a competing current of skepticism about Bledsoe's ability to run a team solo for 35 minutes per game - a feeling his strong per-minute numbers won't translate. He's sort of like pre-RocketsJames Harden in this way, only with a lower ceiling.

Truly, no one knows what we will get with a 35-minute-per-game Bledsoe. The Suns would obviously be ecstatic if Bledsoe has a meteoric rise like James Harden did, but Bledsoe doesn't have the offensive arsenal or distinctive facial hair of Harden to wow the fans into ignoring his faults (for Harden, that's defense). Bledsoe will do a little of everything, but will he be all-time great at anything?

Again, I caution Suns fans not to get too attached to any individual players this season, though I know that's a futile plea. Once we start watching these kids play, and start filling in their gaps with our creative minds, I'm sure there will be "one or two future all-stars here" (I used quotes because that's, to me, a famous movie line. Any guesses?).

McDonough says he sees no reason any of the Suns' veterans can't stay around for the rise, since the oldest is "only" 30 years old. And he drafted the youngest ones. So what gives? Anyone and everyone, that is.

As you watch this team in 2013-14, watch them with an analytical eye. The better each plays, the more value he has in trade. The goal is to end up with a young, top-5 player at every position. The Suns don't have any of those yet. This process is still in its infancy.

Today's scrimmage coverage

Dave's Dastardly Dilemma is to make sure Bright Side has all the based covered for today's game. Sean, Jim and I are going make sure the Bright Side twitter feed is manned with color-commentary observations, that the game thread (this thingy here) is dotted with first-hand observations and that the recap(s) are the most awesomest prose ever typed into a keyboard.

At the very least, it will be a positive day because the Suns are guaranteed to win.